The BLTS Archive - The Unkindest Cut by Artemis (Artemisok@aol.com) --- Disclaimer: CBS-Paramount owns Star Trek. No infringement intended, no money being made. Feedback: Will write for feedback Beta: Thank you to Sally for the feedback. All mistakes are my own. Archiving: My Place, ASCEM and THFFF --- "God Damn Them! Damn them all to hell! This was the last straw!" Lt. Christine Chapel slammed her fist down on the desk beside the monitor. She had been doing a monthly administrative review of medical records when she discovered that she was blocked from viewing Lt. Uhura-Spock's record. This wasn't the last straw, Chris thought angrily, this was the last cut in a death by a thousand cuts. She would bet a month's pay that Ny. . . scratch that. . . Lt. Uhura-Spock was pregnant. As it happened Nurse Chapel was a qualified mid-wife, the only one on the ship. The unkindest cut of all made it clear that Leonard, Doctor McCoy no longer trusted her. Chris reflected on how she found out that her best friend was married. After a long three months away from the Enterprise on a mission of mercy to Phukett IV, Nurse Chapel had been looking forward to collapsing in her quarters when Ensign Miranda Higgins had run up to her in the corridor and gleefully informed her that Lt. Uhura had stolen her sweetie. Yep, while Chris had been away the cats had gotten married. Miranda's voice carried. Everyone in the corridor could hear. They all paused, waiting for Lt. Chapel's reaction. Christine blushed. She shook her head and retreated into her quarters. She leaned against the closed door and broke down, laughing. What they didn't know was that she no longer cared to pursue Mr. Spock. She and the Vulcan had shared a very intimate experience. They had shared consciousness in one body. Captain Kirk had agreed to help three survivors trapped for half a million years in a bodiless existence. After the rescue attempt began to unravel, Sargon, their leader, devised a plan. He and his wife telepathically called Christine into Sick Bay. They ordered McCoy out of the room. The room shook, and a few seconds later, Chapel walked out. When McCoy rushed back in, he founds Kirk and Mulhall restored to normal and all the receptacles, including Mr. Spock's, destroyed. Kirk ordered McCoy to prepare a hypo with a deadly injection — Spock's mind is now dead, so now they must destroy Henoch, the villain who possessed the Vulcan's body. In a sequence of events that would make a grand master proud, Sargon and Spock defeated Henoch. When the dust had settled, Chris proudly told the assembled bridge crew that she and Mr. Spock had been together in her body. During those short minutes, Spock's shields had slipped and she felt his revulsion. She knew that he saw her as insipid and cloying. He had only agreed with Sargon's plan because it was logical and he himself could not come up with a better one. Well, that put their relationship into a different perspective. Perhaps from the outside it may have looked the same; he avoided her, she flushed and got clumsy when he entered a room. But on the inside, she had had her wake up call. She had partially explained to Ny, her best friend, that she felt 'creeped out' because Spock had been in control of her body, and Nyota did not press. --- Christine had been hurt that Nyota hadn't let her know when she married Spock. You'd think that the Chief Communications Officer of the Enterprise could send a lousy letter? Chris had wanted to have a heart-to-heart with Ny since she had returned to the ship, but somehow the general consensus was that the CCO needed to be protected from the Head Nurse. Not only were Ny and Spock avoiding her, but crew members went out of their way to intersperse themselves between the two ladies. Rumor had it that her peace offering of real Earth champagne had been taken to Transporter Room Three and beamed into space. Perhaps her note reading, "Best of Luck in The Future" had been construed as a threat? The ship seemed to hold its collective breath waiting for the other space boot to drop. They could exhale soon. Craig M'Benga found the head nurse bent over her console. Her wastebasket overflowed with tissues and candy wrappers. Poor Christine, he thought, hitting the hard stuff. "What are you up to, sweetheart?" He touched her shoulder. She smiled up at him. Craig was one of five, make that four, people out of 430 that actually trusted her these days. "Giving up. I know when I'm not welcome. I don't need a house to fall on me." "Feeling like a real witch, are you?" He sat and took her hand. "I don't blame you. There are times when I feel that Ms. U.-S. is running this damned ship." "Without even meaning to." She sighed. "Here's what I'm up to and I could use your help." He looked at the screen. "I'm going to medical school. UC-Berkley has an accelerated program to turn RNs and physicians assistants into doctors. I figure that I can go on reserve status with Star Fleet and with any luck be interning at Piper Memorial in two years." M'Benga touched her face and wiped away a tear. "Okay, I'm good with that. I'll miss you, but I'd be glad to give you all the help I can. The real question is - why now?" Nurse Chapel explained about not having access to Ny's records. "Shit," he exclaimed. "There are only twelve of us to care for 430 of them. Sweetheart. I'd say that house is definitely circling." He saw a small icon blinking at the bottom of her screen. He pointed to it. "What's that?" "The other boot." "Are you crazy?" "Let's just say they won't forget Christine Chapel anytime soon. Nothing dangerous, just annoying." She smiled like the Cheshire cat. "Promise?" She patted his hand; "Promise. I'd be a fool to really screw with the Enterprise. After all, it's a small Star Fleet." Reassured, he bent to help her with her applications. They finished early and slipped off to have a quiet evening. --- A couple of days later, Doctor McCoy was surprised to find the applications amongst his paperwork. "Nurse Chapel, get in here!" he bellowed. She stepped in smartly and stood at attention. "Lt. Chapel reporting as ordered." Her demeanor would have done a Vulcan proud. That stung. "Cut the crap, Chris. What's this all about?" He knew. He just needed to her it from her. He braced himself. "Just because you can't have Ol' Spock is no reason to jump ship." Her eyes were like blue lasers. "Doctor McCoy, it is not just because I can't have Ol' Spock, as you put it. It is because you have lost faith in me." "Dammit, girl, I'd trust you with my own life." He knew how hollow those words sounded. A little tattler program had told him when she had tried to open Ny's records. He needed to soften the blow. "You're my right hand here. Hell, you're practically a doctor." "So, let me become a doctor. I need yours and the Captain's recommendations on both the medical school application and the transfer to the Reserve." She softened a little. "I'm sure Captain Kirk will be glad to see me go." "Well now. . . " "Be honest. I've been a distraction without even meaning to for months now." "To say the very least. I hate to ask but do you happen to know why Ny slipped in the locker room this morning?" "No sir. I was here from 0001 until 0800. I even had my lunch here. You can check the records. Besides, I don't go to the gym anymore. Lt. Uhura isn't the only one to accidentally slip, just more people care. . . " She clamped her mouth shut and stared at the floor. McCoy straightened in his chair; "When. . . why didn't you tell me?!" Chris shrugged. "About a month ago, just after Lt. Uhura had a dizzy spell on the bridge. I finished getting dressed. I took a couple of steps and wham - my feet flew out from under me. I discovered that someone had put grease on the soles of my boots." "Aw, hell, honey!" She suppressed an urge to roll her eyes. "No blood, no foul. I've been public enemy number one since I got back. Everyone assumes that I have it out for my former best friend and obsession thief. Well, I don't, but I can count on the finger of one hand the people who believe me. Every time the good lieutenant so much as stubs her toe, my luck changes for the worse. The top comes off the salt shaker; people bump into me in the corridors. I've lost count of the times I've just missed the lift." "I'm sorry, Chris. I didn't notice. I guess I've been caught up in baby fever." "You haven't notice that the experiments I left running in the Science lab have been sabotaged? My anti-peptide growth study got irradiated? C'mon, sir. You had a fit because I couldn't give you the results of the Leslie digi-protein count." She sighed. "You must have noticed that crew members don't want me to treat them?" Leonard's brow grew dark. "I'll talk to Spock and Jim on your behalf. We'll issue a statement. . . Shit, 'issue a statement'. Y'all play nice with little Christine. She don't mean y'all no harm and 'sides she smells right purty." He shook his head. "Poor Christine, this ship isn't big enough for the both of you, is it?" She flashed him a heartbreaking smile. "No, Len, it's not." He walked over to where she stood and put his hand on her shoulder. "I hate that it came to this. I sure will miss you. I promise I'll get right on this, one class-A recommendation coming up. I know a couple of people at Star Fleet medical who still owe me favors. We can have you outta here before some jokester decides to set your sonic shower on stun." Her honorable discharge and acceptance came through at warp speed. She was at the same time grateful and dismayed. Now Christine stood on the transporter pad with her suitcases at her feet. The senior staff was there to see her off. She had said her tearful good-byes to her friends the night before. Captain Kirk spoke for them all. "Good by, Miss Chapel, I hope you find what you're looking for." She nodded. "Good bye, sir. I was searching when I came aboard the Enterprise and, like most explorers, I suppose I'll keep searching my whole life." She turned to Scotty. "Now, please Mr. Scott." With a sparkle and a hum, she was gone. But not forgotten. Miss Chapel's last words were not just a parting speech, but a trigger for a program. For the next six months, every time someone engaged the computer they heard Christine's voice. The computer insisted at all crewmembers say please and thank-you or it would not function for them unless there was an alert. It would always say "You're welcome" in a warm, familiar contralto. Worse of all, the Daystrom Institute did not seem to consider this a priority problem. They sent back a message saying that "Manners maketh the man" and would send a patch when they got the chance. In fact, it took two patches. One to correct the Miss Manners bug and one more that arrived much later, restoring the computer's default voice. Kirk, Spock and McCoy wondered about the glitch. M'Benga knew, but kept his own counsel. It was all in Christine's records if they had cared to look. She had started out her career as a nurse practitioner at Daystrom. She spent three years there. It only took a little digging on Craig's part to discover that Chris has supplied the voice model for all of Star Fleet's current operating systems. She was a brilliant programmer in her own right who had left a lot of friends behind at the Institute. Christine left a special line of code for Craig. Each evening after he asked the computer to turn off the lights, it said, "Good night, sweetheart." --- The End